“Time Stands Still,” Donald Margulies’ witty, insightful
look at what happens when ordinary life is refracted through the lens of war,
opens the Snowy Range Summer Theatre June 11-15 at 7:30 p.m. in the University
of Wyoming Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts (formerly Fine Arts
Building) Studio Theatre.

For tickets, call the Wyoming Union or Performing Arts
Center box offices at (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts. The performance is recommended for mature
audiences.

“Time Stands Still” is a moving and often hilarious story of
relationships from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Dinner With
Friends.” Directed by UW Department of Theatre and Dance
Professor Rebecca Hilliker, this Broadway hit follows longtime partners Sarah, a
photojournalist, and James, a foreign correspondent, who share a passion for
documenting the realities of war. But when circumstances force the adventurous
couple to return home to New York to convalesce, they must confront the
prospect of a more conventional life together.

“What happens to people’s emotions and sense of self when
they have lived in a war zone for so long under such harsh conditions?” asks
Hilliker. “How do they then come home and just fit into the normal moral and
physical environment of the United States with all of the comforts of home, and
find meaning in their work when it’s no longer life-or-death?”

The play also examines the ethics of being the observer and
documentarian who depicts such scenes of violence, but has no direct
relationship to them.

“When you are taking photos of people who spiritually need
to be left alone in a moment of extremity, who are you?” asks Hilliker. “And,
if you step outside of the role of observer to offer help in some way, who are
you then? The play asks some very serious questions about those ethical
considerations.”

But such questions are only one element of the story. “Time
Stands Still” bears witness to the human experience in all its facets, from the
exhilaration and danger of living on the front lines to the gentle intimacies
of domestic life.

“The play is much funnier than I had anticipated because of
this contrast between the couples and, also, because it legitimately asks why
coming to terms with a quieter life and choosing to find joy in simple things
can’t be just as a valuable as documenting human suffering and war. Because, ultimately, it can be,” Hilliker
says.

The production features guest artists, and Actors' Equity
Association performers Caryn Flanagan and John O’Hagan play Sara and James.
Jason Pasqua, a UW alumnus and head of theatre at Laramie County Community
College, plays Richard, their stateside photo editor friend. Ann Mason, a UW
alumna and California-based performer, plays Mandy, Richard’s much younger,
carefree wife, who is an event planner.

Photo:Actors' Equity Association performer John O’Hagan plays
James in the UW production of “Time Stands Still.”